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Fit Travel: 10 Best Coastal Hikes in the United States

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America has thousands of miles of hikeable trails stretching up the east and west coasts, ringing the Great Lakes and lining the Alaskan shoreline. Here are the 10 best walking routes for hiking junkies looking to plan a vacation.

<p>Twenty-three of America’s 50 states are edged by thousands of miles of ocean coastline (12,479 to be exact). If you count states bordered by the Great Lakes, that brings America’s coastline mileage to a whopping 94,122. Not all of it’s <a href="http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/travel/best-hiking-trails-in-america" target="_blank">hikeable</a>—unless maybe you’re a ballsy woodsman comfortable with a compass and map—but both national and state parks services have bushwacked and prepped thousands of miles of coast creating treks prime for a hiking junkie’s <a href="http://www.mensfitness.com/training/pro-tips/7-tricks-for-traveling-fit" target="_blank">vacation</a>.
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Here are the 10 best coastal hikes in the U.S. All you need is time off, a solid pair of boots, and you’re just a <a href="mensfitness.com/leisure/travel/fit-travel-10-best-coastal-hikes-in-the-united-states?page=2">grueling climb away</a> from the best views of ocean or lake in America.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Acadia Mountain Trail, Maine</font></h3>
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The 2.5-mile Acadia Mountain Trail, an east-west hike near Trenton, Maine, summits Mount Desert over Somes Sound and Southwest Harbor. You can pick up the trailhead across from Acadia Mountain parking lot off Route 102. The well-marked trail ascends steeply from the get-go up a total of 681 feet. After you follow the switchbacks, you’ll cross an old logging road and enter a pine forest. Here, you can catch high-point views of Echo Lake, a two-mile-long hotspot for camping, fishing, boating, and swimming. The trail summits Mount Desert from the east and descends sharply looping back to the parking lot. When you reach the bottom of Acadia Mountain Trail, keep your eyes peeled for a short 75-yard offshoot trail. It leads to cascading waterfalls in Man of War Brook, and is worth the extra 20 minutes.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Superior Hiking Trail, Minnesota</font></h3>
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Hugging the ridgeline above Lake Superior’s western shore, the 277-mile Superior Hiking Trail runs from Duluth, Minnesota to Ontario, Canada. It’s the Midwest’s long-hike version of the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail, but with scenic views of Lake Superior (the biggest lake in the world) and single-track winding up the spine of the Sawtooth Mountain range, it feels even more raw and untraveled. For a moderate/difficult 4.4 mile section of the Superior Hiking Trail, head to Split Rock State Park on highway 61, about 15 miles north of Two Harbors, Minnesota. Pick up the trailhead on the east side of the park’s parking lot. Be sure to take caution on the trail’s washouts and steeper grades as you hike along cliff-edge for views of Split Rock Lighthouse.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Fragrance Lake Trail, Washington</font></h3>
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The Olympic and Cascade Mountains circle Washington’s Puget Sound, a waterway blended from Salish Sea and inland bays. Not only can you glimpse rare wildlife (think orca whales, elk, bald eagles) but also you can hike miles upon miles of Puget Sound trails. For a tougher hike with access to a sweet ledge overlooking the Puget Sound, take the 5.5-mile Fragrance Lake Trail in Larrabee State Park (trailhead on the main park road just after the campground). Unlike some other surrounding trails, Fragrance Lake Trail was built for hikers and hikers only, so you may feel like the only man on earth, except your hiking buddy. The trail shoots up about 1,000 feet, switchbacking through massive Pacific Northwest cedar and fir growths. It’s super easy to follow, just hike straight.
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About a mile in, you’ll reach a junction where you can take a level offshoot trail 0.2 miles to a rock ledge for western views of Samish Bay, Lummi Island and the San Juan Islands. Backtrack to the Fragrance Lake Trail and continue about 1.5 miles until you reach another junction. Left takes you another tenth mile to Fragrance Lake and right circles back to the trailhead along a gently descending logging road.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Bartlett Shoreline Trail, Alaska</font></h3>
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Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park is much wilder than it is tame, so there’s few maintained trails in the park. A twelve-mile, out-and-back hike along the Bartlett Cove shoreline to Point Gustavus takes a full day, but it’s flat and runs along the intertidal strip of beach sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and forest. If you’re into wildlife, this is the hike for you because there’s a mix of wildflowers, water birds, and even washed up marine life during low tide. You can ask a park ranger for a tide schedule. If you don’t feel like hiking all six miles one way, simply turn around at any point and backtrack. If you stick to the coast, you won’t get lost, even though there’s no official “trail”.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Parry Grove Trail & High Point Trail, California</font></h3>
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Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve sits just north of San Diego off of Coast Highway 101. Though it’s a busy favorite for California natives looking for an outdoorsy weekend, you can escape the crowds and hike a low-to-high combo of the High Point and Parry Grove Trails. The trailheads are clearly marked and sit right across from each other on Torrey Pines Park Road. Parry Grove Trail descends sharply a half-mile down a steep set of stairs to a quiet scenic ocean overlook. Haul yourself back up and across the road, to climb 100 yards up to High Point, another scenic overlook from a different perspective. Don’t be fooled by the trails’ short distances—if you hike both, you’re sure to get in your glute-busting workout.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Cliff Walk, Rhode Island</font></h3>
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If you’re visiting New England and looking for a way to check out it’s famous Atlantic coastline, head to Newport, Rhode Island and hike the 3.5-mile Cliff Trail. You’ll likely breeze over the first couple paved miles on the northern end of the trail, which you can pick up on Memorial Boulevard. But don’t get bored and write it off—the trail gets more challenging from Ledge Road running down the southern half. The uneven, natural rocky path straddles 70-foot cliffs and can be a bit dangerous as bushes hide drop off points. Be sure to wear sturdy boots on this hike. The craggy section is less touristy and well worth the ankle twisting risk, if you’re careful. The whole thing takes about 2.5 hours.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Tawas Point Sandy Hook Nature Trail, Michigan</font></h3>
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Tawas Point State Park juts out on the upper lip of Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron on Michigan’s east coast. It has been unofficially dubbed the Cape Cod of the Midwest because of its unique sand dunes, which serve as a mid-migration landing platform for birds each fall and spring. You can hike the two-mile Sandy Hook Nature Trail through parts of these sand dunes and past Tawas Point Lighthouse to the tip of the peninsula, ending near the U.S. Coast Guard’s foghorn. The whole trail takes less than 70 minutes to hike. Bring your binoculars if you’re into bird watching—you’ll be able to see hummingbirds, bluebirds, orioles and dozens of other species.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Tillamook Head Traverse Hike, Oregon</font></h3>
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If you’ve never done a traverse shuttle hike, here’s a moderate one to try—and when you feast your eyes on the 1,000 foot cliff faces, you might feel as cool as Lewis and Clark probably did when they stumbled upon it. Oregon’s Tillamook Head Traverse Trail runs only 3.6 miles one way, but prepare for a Pacific Northwest mud bath and an overgrown trail in some areas. You can drop one car at Indian Beach Trailhead in Oregon’s Ecola State Park and bring your second car to start the hike at Tillamook Head Trailhead just south of Seaside—a town 80 miles northwest of Portland. The hike climbs about 900 feet, levels off, and eventually descends into Indian Beach after you pass a set of rustic hikers cabins. At the end of the trail, you’ll be so caked in mud, you’ll be glad you don’t have to hike back.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Laguna Trail, California</font></h3>
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The Laguna Loop is an easy/moderate grassland 5-mile trail, perfect for hiking with kids. It rings miles of dunes and coastal scrub just north of San Francisco. It intersects with two other trails (Fire Trail and Coast Trail) so you can lengthen your hike for beach access. Start at the Laguna Loop Trailhead on Point Reyes Youth Hostel Road (about seven miles west of Bear Valley Visitor Center). Head south on the Laguna Loop that dips into a small valley before ascending to the Fire Trail junction. By staying straight on Fire Trail, you’ll cross another valley scattered with brush and come to Coast Trail junction. Here, take a right on the gravel path and you’ll come over sand dunes to Santa Maria Beach ringed by ocean, coastline, and bluffs. From Santa Maria Beach you can rejoin the Laguna Loop to climb back up to the trailhead. The network covers mostly flat, open ground, and though it’s different than your average wooded hike, its exposed layout provides several different viewpoints of California’s coast.</p>

<h3><font color="red" font family="Arial">Kalalau Trail, Kauai, Hawaii</font></h3>
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The Kalalau Trail is the really the only access point to Kauai, Hawaii’s rugged north shore. The full trail runs for 11 miles and takes a challenging full day to complete, one-way. For fit backpackers, it’s a rollercoaster-trail dream come true because it climbs along cliff edge, dips down through lush tropical forest, and bottoms out at sea level at both Hanakapi'ai and Kalalau Beaches. Most day hikers only hike the first two miles from the trailhead at Ke'e Beach to Hanakapiai Beach, but the views becoming increasingly better if you push on. You’ll trek through the trail’s five major valleys until you finish at Kalalau Beach. You can pitch a tent here and camp before heading back. If you want to hike a bit slower, you can break the 11 miles up by camping at the six-mile mark at Hanakoa Valley (the only other place to legally camp on the trail.) </p>